Traditions P1381 User Manual

In recent years more and more sportsmen

have been returning to the historical days of

muzzleloading. For both hunting and target

shooting, these guns are helping a modern

generation recapture and enjoy an important

part of our nation’s past.

Traditions muzzleloading replicas are

faithful in design to their eighteenth century

forebearers. Although they are manufactured

to modern standards for safe and enjoyable

shooting. However, they can be quite

dangerous if proper shooting and safety

procedures are not always followed.

This booklet is a basic guide for the proper

loading, shooting and maintenance of your

Traditions replica muzzleloader and to offer

important rules and precautions for the safe

handling and shooting of this type of firearm.

In addition to this booklet, it is recommended

that a person new to muzzleloading obtain

further competent information and

instruction before firing a muzzleloader.

S

OME SOURCES FOR ADDITIONAL HELP:

1. Your town clerk, state Department of

Environmental Protection or conservation

department can give you the name of the

person or organization in your area offering

hunter safety courses. Many of these courses

include sections on muzzleloading and are

excellent training for the beginning shooter.

2. Contact a local muzzleloading gun club

in your area. Club members will be pleased to

help introduce you to enjoyable shooting. A

list of clubs in your area may be obtained from:

National Muzzle Loading Rifle Association

P. O. Box 67

Friendship, Indiana 47021

3. The following excellent booklets are

available from the National Muzzle Loading

Rifle Association at the above address:

“The Muzzleloading Rifle Handbook”

“The Muzzleloading Pistol Handbook”

1. Read and understand and be willing to

follow all instructions and warranty limitations
in this booklet before loading or shooting your
muzzleloader.

2. Always treat any firearm as if is loaded.

3. Always wear both eye and ear protection

when loading or firing.

4. Be sure of your target and what is behind
it before firing. Do not point your gun at
anything you do not intend to shoot and be sure
that all bystanders are behind you.

5. Use only the proper grade of black power
or Pyrodex®in properly measured amounts.
Use between 5 to 10 grains of 3f black powder
or the Pyrodex equivalent.

6. Never smoke or permit others to do so in
the presence of black powder or Pyrodex. Avoid
drugs and alcoholic beverages before and
during shooting.

7. Be certain the powder and projectile are
loaded in proper sequence and are firmly seated
to insure no air space between the base of the
barrel, powder and projectile.

8. Shooting patches are not required for
this pistol.

9. Never load powder into your gun directly
from a can, horn or flask. Use a separate
measuring device. A remaining spark in the
barrel may cause accidental ignition of the
powder being loaded.

10. Use .310 diameter round lead ball only.

11. Do not rely on the half-cock notch as a

safety. A drop or any hard blow may cause the
hammer to fall and possibly fire the gun.

12. Never place a cap on the nipple of a
percussion gun until you are ready to fire. Any
bump or accidental pressure on the hammer or
trigger may result in an unintentional discharge
of the firearm resulting in a dangerous accident.

13. Never climb, jump or move abruptly
while carrying a loaded firearm.

14. Never transport in a vehicle or store a
loaded gun. Always store the powder and gun in
separate places.

15. In the event of a misfire, assume the gun
could fire at any moment. Keep gun pointed
down range. Wait at least one minute
before recapping.

M

UZZLELOADING MUSTS

THE MUZZLELOADING SPORT

WARRANTY & SHOOTING

INSTRUCTIONS

P. O. Box 776

1375 Boston Post Road

Old Saybrook, CT 06475

Phone [phone] Fax [phone]

1381I - 0898

Read and understand this
booklet before loading or

firing your muzzleloader

✁

Booklet must accompany the

muzzleloader. If this muzzleloader is

sold or given to another person,

additional copies are available free

from Traditions

IMPORTANT NOTES

Cut along dotted line and mail to:

P. O. Box 776

Old Saybrook, CT 06475

For reasons of safety and proper performance, these loading
instructions must be followed closely. While the procedures
may seem cumbersome, they will, with practice, soon become
routine and will make for safe, dependable and accurate
shooting. It is very helpful to have an experienced black powder
shooter with you for the first few times you load and shoot.

F

OLLOWTHESEINSTRUCTIONSINTHEIRSEQUENCE

:

1. Always wear eye and ear protection.

2. Determine that the gun is unloaded. To do so, insert a

ramrod down the length of the barrel and mark it flush with the
muzzle. Remove the ramrod and lay it alongside the barrel. The
reference mark should be even with the end of the muzzle. If
the gun is unloaded, the bottom end of the ramrod should be
even with the base of the nipple. If there is an obvious
difference in depth, the barrel is probably either obstructed or
loaded. To remove the obstruction, obtain the assistance of an
experienced shooter or gunsmith. Do not attempt to clear the
barrel by firing.

3. With the gun pointed in a safe direction, set the hammer

in the half-cock (first position). It should not be possible to
make the hammer fall from this position even with strong
pressure on the trigger or hammer. If this is not the case, do not
proceed until the problem has been corrected by a competent
gunsmith or by returning the gun for service.

4. Test the full-cock (second click) position to ensure that

the hammer will stay in this position only until moderate
pressure is applied to the trigger. Also, the hammer should stay
in the full cock position regardless of any force applied to the
rear of the hammer. If this is not the case, do not proceed if this
full cock position is not secure.

5. Set the hammer on half-cock. Open the barrel by rotating

it to the left. Check the nipple to see if it is secure. Tighten, if
necessary using a properly sized nipple wrench.

6. Before loading anything into the barrel it may be

necessary to clean all oil and grease from inside the barrel. Fire
two or three #11 percussion caps. This will clear any residue out
of the nipple and barrel channel. Point the gun at a leaf, blade
of grass or any other lightweight object on the ground. If by
firing the cap, the object is moved, the barrel is clear and ready
for loading.

7. Position for loading:

Never work with your face or any part of your body over the
muzzle, even when the gun is unloaded.

8. Loading the powder:

Maximum load 10 grains.
Use only black powder or Pyrodex®. Do not overload. It is not
safe and will decrease accuracy. Pour the powder from an
approved shooter’s powder measure into the barrel and, with
your hand, tap the sides of the barrel to ensure that all the
powder falls to the bottom of the barrel.

C

AUTION

: Never load powder directly from any container,

flask or powder horn into the barrel, because a lingering spark
from a previous firing could ignite the powder entering the
barrel and cause the container to explode.

9. Loading a .310 diameter lead ball:

Place the ball on the muzzle with the slight projection, or
“sprue,” facing upward. With a ball starter, place the short
shaft on top of the ball and drive the ball downward, into the
muzzle. With the longer shaft of the ball starter, drive the ball
deeper into the barrel and firmly seat it on top of the powder.

C

AUTION

: Any gap between powder and ball is a

dangerous situation and could cause a burst barrel.

C

AUTION

:

Do not use any type of shooting patch

with a round ball.

C

AUTION

:

A projectile which does not enter the
barrel under pressure may not stay seated on top
of the powder.

10. Marking the ramrod:

With powder, and ball now properly and firmly loaded into
the barrel, insert the ramrod into the barrel and mark it at the
point where the ramrod is flush with the muzzle. In the
future, this mark will serve to indicate that the barrel is
loaded.

11. Capping and cocking:

Move the hammer to the half-cock position. Turn the
barrel to the left and expose the nipple. With the gun
pointed in a safe direction, place a #11 percussion cap on
the nipple.Securely close the barrel. With the gun
continuously pointed in the direction in which you wish to
fire, move the hammer to the full cock position. The gun
is now ready to fire.

12. Fire:

To fire, aim at target and pull the trigger. After firing, wait at
least one minute before reloading to ensure that no spark
remains in the barrel.

a. If the percussion cap fails to fire, remove it and replace it

with a new cap.

b. If the cap fires but the main charge fails to fire, keep the

gun pointed toward your target and wait one minute. By doing
so, you will be prepared for the chance of delayed ignition, also
called “hangfire.” Then, place another percussion cap on the
nipple and fire again.

c. If ignition still does not result, wait another minute, and

with the gun pointed in a safe direction, remove the percussion
cap and remove the nipple with a properly sized nipple wrench.
Verify that the hole in the nipple is not blocked. Also, verify that
there is powder in the barrel. This can be done by looking into
the hole in which the nipple goes.

d. If none of the above corrects the situation, the load must

be removed from the barrel. At this point, the beginning
shooter should ask for the help of an experienced shooter with
the proper tools.

13. Removing the load:

With the muzzle pointed in a safe direction, and the nipple
removed, carefully empty the powder through the nipple hole.
After all the powder is emptied from the barrel, use a narrow
rod and push the ball out through the muzzle.

L

OADING AND SHOOTING INSTRUCTIONS

C

LEANING AND MAINTENANCE

Black powder and Pyrodex are both very corrosive and leave
considerable residue in the barrel. For proper shooting and
protection, your gun must be cleaned frequently by using the
simple methods below.

After a few shots you may notice a difficulty in introducing a
ball, place a cleaning patch dampened with bore cleaning solvent
on the end of a ramrod and run it vigorously through the barrel
several times to remove the fouling. Follow-up with a dry patch or
two to remove any moisture. Resume shooting.

As soon as possible after you finish firing, your gun must be
thoroughly cleaned. To leave a gun uncleaned, even overnight, can
result in serious and damaging corrosion. A simple cleaning
procedure is as follows:

1. Remove the nipple from a percussion gun. With a cleaning

patch on the ramrod, pump soapy water or a black powder solvent
down the muzzle end and out the nipple hole.

2. Wipe the exterior surfaces of the barrel and the rest of the

gun with a cloth dipped in the same solution.

3. Rinse the barrel with hot water and immediately dry the

entire gun.

4. When the gun is dry, treat all metal surfaces, with a light

coating of a rust preventative gun oil or Traditions Wonder Lube
1000 PlusTM.

5. Store the gun, percussion caps and powder in separate cool

dry places out of the reach of children.

In order to participate fully in the sport the purchase of several
accessories mentioned is advised. These can be obtained at most
well stocked gunshops. A catalog of those accessories offered by
Traditions is available from the factory upon request.
Safety or shooting glasses and ear protection: These are definite
“musts” and are most important accessories to have. They should
be used at all times. Ear protectors can be either simple ear plugs
or the head set-type which fully cover the ears.
Percussion caps: #11 Caps fit all Traditions nipples.
Bore solvent: Traditions bore solvent, diluted with water, makes an
excellent cleaning solution and rust inhibitor. In undiluted form
it is an excellent patch lube.

Ball starter:

Also known as a short starter or bullet seater, this is
a very useful tool. Usually consists of a short shaft to drive the ball
flush with the muzzle and a longer shaft for driving the ball farther
down the barrel.

Balls:

These should be of the correct size and of pure lead.
.310 dia.
Powder measure: For precise measuring of load. This should be
adjustable for varying loads.

Nipples:

Traditions nipples are of high grade stainless steel and
should last several seasons. It never hurts to keep a spare or two
handy. (Traditions nipple size is M6-1.)

Nipple Wrench:

No percussion shooter should be without this

useful tool. Removes nipples easily for a thorough cleaning.

Powder horn or flask:

These are convenient for carrying powder
for dispensing into the powder measure. The Traditions cylindrical
flask is particularly handy for this purpose.

Cleaning patches:

Any soft cotton material will serve well.

Possibles bag:

These come in many forms, are usually made of

suede and are useful for carrying all accessories.

MUZZLELOADING

ACCESSORIES

Traditions will warrant this muzzleloading firearm to be free of mechanical
defects in materials and craftsmanship for the life of the firearm, while in the
possession of the original owner. Traditions will repair or replace, at its
option, product or parts which are returned to the Traditions Customer
Service Department. A full explanation of the specific problem must
accompany the returned item. Incidental and consequential damages are not
covered by this warranty. Corrosion damages resulting from lack of cleaning
or improper storage are not warranted.

This warranty shall be considered null and void if any of the following
conditions are determined by the Traditions Customer Service Department:

1.

Use of any propellant other than black powder or Pyrodex®.

2.

Use of any powder charges in excess of those recommended.

3.

Use of any plastic patching material with round balls.

4.

Modification of internal parts as they were shipped from the factory.

5.

Obvious neglect or abuse.

WARRANTY REGISTRATION CARD

Model ________________________________________________

Product Name/Number

Serial No. ______________________________________________

Is this your first muzzleloading firearm purchase? ❑ Yes ❑ No
Have you ever or do you plan to hunt with a muzzleloader? ❑ Yes ❑ No
Do you plan to purchase any muzzleloading accessories in the next six months? ❑ Yes ❑ No
Do you have any comments or suggestions about the product you have just purchased?

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Name ______________________________________________________________________________________

Street _______________________________________________________________________________________

City_______________________________________________ State______________ Zip ___________________

Note: This card must be returned within two weeks of purchase to validate your lifetime warranty.

Purchased From

__________________________________

Dealer Store Name

__________________________________

Street

__________________________________

City State Zip

LIMITED LIFETIME MECHANICAL WARRANTY

✁